"I don't believe you." Said a teenage voice. "I can't believe you."
"WHAT?!" Dan shouted.
When all eyes turned to them, Dan sat back in his seat, blushing slightly. The chief huffed angrily, returning his gaze to Runo and Tigrerra. He and Drago were currently inside Runo's family restaurant, conversing with the Haos fighter during her shift.
"Come on, Runo! Is it really that hard to believe I taught someone?" Dan asked.
"Yes, because you can't teach a paper bag to fold." Runo replied. She placed her plate of sandwiches on the table.
Drago unwound himself.
"I can vouch for Dan. It was surprising to see him play the role of mentor so well." He said.
Tigrerra hummed on Runo's shoulder.
"If Drago says so, then it must be true, Runo." Said Tigrerra.
"I suppose..." Runo reluctantly admitted.
"Why do you instantly believe him!?" Dan asked, outraged.
"Drago's just a lot more reliable than you, Dan." Smiled Runo.
"EH?!" Said Dan, his face close to his friend's. "Anyway, one thing's for sure, Tigrerra's a lot more reliable than you! Who makes a sandwich that tastes like cardboard, eh?"
"EH?!" Runo shouted, slamming the tray on the table. Her hands grabbed Dan and pulled him closer to her. "Say that again, and I'll kick your ass!"
"Your sandwiches taste like cardboard!" Dan shouted.
"That's it! I'm kicking you out of here!" Runo shouted.
"E-eh, wait! RUNO!" Dan shouted as Runo began dragging him out of the restaurant.
Tigrerra and Drago just watched their friends' usual antics. Ignoring their partners for a moment, the two Bakugan faced each other.
"Did you feel it too, Tigrerra?" Drago asked.
"You mean that strange power surge from a few days ago? I felt it too, but I haven't told Runo yet. I didn't want to distract her from her duties." Tigrerra replied.
Drago nodded.
"The same goes for Daniel. If he'd learned about this, he'd be looking for that Bakugan to fight. I didn't want to distract him any more than he already was." he confessed.
"What should we do about it?" Tigrerra asked.
"Nothing for the moment. Once these two have calmed down, we can talk about getting everyone together to discuss the matter. This tournament's coming up soon, so it'll be the perfect time to talk about it." Drago declared.
"I agree..." Said Tigrerra before their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a plate breaking.
The two looked over to see Dan and Runo standing over two broken plates on the floor. Continuing to argue and disturbing everyone in the restaurant.
"YOU'RE PAYING FOR THIS, DAN!" Runo shouted.
"ME!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BROKE IT!" Dan retorted.
The two Bakugan sighed in exasperation at their partners' immaturity.
"So... this is it?" Leonidas asked.
"I don't know. Maybe the words 'Bakugan Store' might be a clue?" Trent replied with a smirk.
The teenager entered the store and examined the interior.
The interior was decorated with Bakugan statues and multiple display cases. Inside the crates were small balls of various colors, obviously the Bakugan that were on sale. Along with a few Portal Cards and Ability Cards.
He looked around the store with stars in his eyes, despite his calm demeanor. He walked over to the window and-
"Hello, can I help you?"
The voice startled Trent, Leonidas almost falling off his shoulder in his startle.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The girl apologized.
Trent tried to regain his composure to look at the person who had just caught him off guard. His breath caught when he saw who was with him. The one he'd wanted to meet since he'd arrived here.
She had long orange hair down to her waist and auburn eyes. She was wearing a yellow dress with white shorts, a green blouse and little white and green boots.
It was Alice from the Battle Brawlers.
Her proximity to the beautiful girl of her age made the teenager blush massively.
"I... It's okay, Alice." He said politely.
"Uh, do we know each other?" She asked.
"Uh... no not really... But I've seen you online with the other members of the Battle Brawlers." Trent explained awkwardly, just managing to make up for his blunder without looking like a dodgy guy.
"You're a real enthusiast." Alice chuckled. "Apart from my role on the team, I run the store with my grandfather."
"Great! Uh, I should probably introduce myself...!" Trent said, blushing again. "My name's Trent. And this is my partner Leonidas." Said he, showing the Leonidas to Alice.
"Pleased to meet you." Saluted the Bakugan.
The auburn eyes stared deeply at Leonidas almost as if she were analyzing him.
"Uh? Are you all right, Alice?" the boy asked.
The store employee straightened instantly, blushing slightly.
"O-oh, sorry! I love Bakugan, even if I don't play the game. There's just something about Leonidas that intrigues me. I've never seen a golden Bakugan." Alice laughed lightly.
Trent laughed nervously too.
"Can I help you?" Alice asked.
"Oh, that's right. In fact, I recently started playing Bakugan and was hoping to get some of my own Bakugan and cards to enter the tournament." Trent explained.
Alice nodded.
"Do you have any Baku Points?" She asked.
"Baku Points?" Trent asked, inclining his head.
"Yes! You see, Baku Points are how we exchange Bakugan and cards with customers!" Alice replied cheerfully.
Trent rubbed his arm nervously.
"Eh... I don't have any Baku Point. I just started and had my first Bakugan fight earlier today." Trent revealed.
"Your first Bakugan fight?" Alice repeated, surprised.
"Yeah, I've never played it before." Replied the teenager.
The teenager clapped her hands enthusiastically.
"If that's the case, then I'd be happy to set you straight! Follow me!" Alice motioned for Trent to follow her behind the store counter. "Lucky for you, we've just received a new shipment of cards and BakuPod!"
"BakuPod? Is that what Dan and Shuji had?" Trent asked.
Alice nodded, pulling a black watch out of the box.
"Here, for you. It's a gift from the house since you're a beginner." She told him with a playful wink that made Trent blush.
"W-wow! Thanks, Alice!" Trent said, smiling at her. His smile made the girl's heart leap for some reason.
"T-thank you! But it's nothing too special. I still need to give you your deck box and explain a few more features." Said Alice.
"Deck box?" Trent asked as Alice placed a series of 3 cases in his hands.
"Yes, it's for your Capacity Cards and Portal Cards. Easy to carry and won't get in the way of your other stuff. And this 3rd case lets you store your Bakugan, so you can easily reach them." Alice explained. "Then there's your BakuPod. To take part in the tournament, you need to be registered in the ranking system. Which I can easily do here from the store."
She opened her laptop on the office counter and opened the registry system. Trent watched as Alice entered her name into the system.
"I'll also need a picture of you."
Once she'd taken his photo, he was officially entered into the Bakugan filing system.
"Cool. I may be ranked low, but all I have to do is fight." Trent smiled, looking at the screen of his watch.
Alice laughed at Trent's calm enthusiasm, reminding her of Dan, but more measured, which added a little to his charm.
"I'm glad you're so ready to start fighting, Trent. Because I was just about to explain to you how Baku Points work." She said. Seeing that she had his full attention, Alice continued. "Because of the tournament and wanting all players to have an equal advantage, winning fights for the duration of the tournament will give you extra points. Win fights and you should raise your position quickly enough to reach the Top 10. Lose a match and you lose points."
"All I have to do is win. Perfect! That's exactly what we plan to do!" Trent smiled.
"Then let's get you your own deck!" Alice giggled. She began to guide him through the various decks that were available at the moment.
Later, Trent returned home with portal and ability cards and two new Bakugan Darkus: Siege and Centipoid.
"I'm rather surprised you took a Centipoid." Leonidas admitted as Trent ate instant noodles.
"I have to admit, this one is really Alice-related." Trent said as he finished his bite. "It was with a Centipoid Darkus that she won the first fight she really fought in the series."
"I see." Leonidas said, turning to a stand where the other two Bakugan rested. "I guess I'll just have to get used to him."
"Certainly." Trent smiled. "Do you think you're ready for the tournament?
"Yes. Do you know who our next opponent will be?"
"I don't. I've completely forgotten who we're up against three-quarters of the time." Trent replied with a shrug.
"Are you kidding me?" Leonidas asked, judging the teenager with his eyes.
"Don't judge me, I played the game when it first came out, and I haven't touched it in over 10 years." Trent retorted.
Leonidas merely grunted, forced to accept the situation.
"Do you think we got his attention?" he finally asked.
"I'm sure we have. The real question is whether he'll contact us directly or set traps." Trent replied, worried that the second option might be the right one.
Unknown to both partners, a spiky blond-haired teenager wearing a long white coat and a mask was staring at Trent's house, perched on the roof of the house across the street.
"So, he's the anomaly." He said with an amused smile. "Now that's going to be interesting."